Nashville Begins Construction on K–5 Charter School

Real estate solutions provider Ryan Companies recently announced that ground has been broken on a new 56,000-square-foot charter school near Nashville, Tenn. Rutherford Collegiate Prep (RCP) will be the fifth public charter school in the region from the local nonprofit organization Noble Education Initiative (NEI). The school will have the capacity for 470 students in grades K–5, according to a news release.

“We are proud to embark on our third charter school project in the Nashville community in partnership with NEI,” said Ryan Companies’ Vice President of Real Estate Development, Max Bosso. “As one of the top builders of charter schools in the Southeast, Ryan looks forward to applying our expertise to deliver a next-generation educational environment that enables teachers to instruct effectively and students to learn without constraints.”

Ryan has previously partnered with NEI for a 93,400-square-foot expansion of the Nashville Collegiate Prep middle school building, which began construction earlier this year. It also built the Nashville Collegiate Prep K–5 building during summer 2021. The goal is to expand educational offerings to families in Rutherford County as the region’s population growth skyrockets.

According to the news release, the charter school will feature a collaborative teaching approach in which different grade levels will learn together in large, conjoined classrooms and flexible areas for group learning projects. Construction is scheduled for completion by July 2024.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • University of Kentucky Receives $150M Gift Toward New Arts District

    The University of Kentucky’s Board of Trustees recently received a $150-million gift from The Bill Gatton Foundation, according to a university news release, to build a new arts district on the campus in Lexington, Ky. The new district will feature a new College of Fine Arts building and a multi-hundred-seat theater, among other amenities.

  • Wisconsin District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    The School District of La Crosse in La Crosse, Wis., recently broke ground on a new elementary school that will consolidate the students and staff of two existing schools, according to local news. Funding for the school comes from a $53-million referendum approved in 2024.

  • LSU Breaks Ground on $200M Residential Project

    Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La., recently broke ground on a new residential complex, according to university news. The South Quad residential project will consist of two buildings and add a total of 1,266 beds for freshmen students. The development comes with a price tag of $200 million, and it’s scheduled to open to students in fall 2027.

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.